eeeeee......Learning!

E-Learning is learning that is facilitated by the use of digital tools and content. This week’s lesson placed an emphasis on online interactivity between learners and their teachers or peers, which is an important element of the e-learning process. It is said that learning today is different from traditional learning which takes place in a classroom. It is a process that no longer resides within an instructor, but that involves a variety of methods and avenues for people all over the world to benefit from, at any time and place.

Varieties of eLearning today include virtual classroom, online learning, rapid e-learning, simulation-based, game-based, mobile learning, and learning management system. Because e-learning has the ability to engage learners, provide interactive and creative new ways for learning, it is increasingly appealing to the mass audience today. For instance, students now engage in rapid e-learning when they log on to websites such as Wikipedia or make use of Google to search and source for instant information. This is made possible by digital media and technology whereby students no longer have to wait to consult their teachers during contact hours in the classroom whenever doubts arise if it can be easily answered or solved online.   Notes and learning materials are now easily available with a click of the mouse. Game-based and simulation-based learning provides an alternative for students who have short attention span and require animation and/or sound effects to help them concentrate and learn better. And because learning is highly personal and learning demands are vastly diverse, having various approaches of learning (such as the different varieties of e-learning) caters to more people and keeps everyone relevant. Additionally, mobile learning is widely popular mainly because of its convenience and easy access. People can now search for information, learn foreign languages, and even be updated with the news on the go, saving time and money. For further description, I have uploaded two videos below to portray and explain the virtual classroom and the effectiveness of digital media on learning respectively.

The move from a traditional classroom to a digital classroom is already evident presently. I had the honor of witnessing how kindergarten kids today learn using a virtual board and the countless interactive applications it offers. As compared to the past, blackboards and whiteboards are getting obsolete as people discover and find new ways of teaching. Technology itself doesn’t guarantee success, but it definitely acts as a stepping stone to a more advanced manner of learning altogether.

What a traditional classroom is like as we know it:

 

What classrooms today are heading toward (even in Kindergartens):

Alongside the main teacher, I had the luxury to teach this bunch of kids using the electronic board shown above. It was certainly a stark contrast from how my lessons were conducted when I was younger. The learning experience for the kids as I observed was not only enriching but highly engaging as well. We were able to use interactive games that had a fair bit of animations and catchy music to capture their attention and focus. More importantly, they had the opportunity to personally write on the electronic board using pointers. As such, the students were all very willing and in fact, excited, to participate in class, a trend increasingly seen today. This illustrates the point of how learning requires personal motivation. For example, like the children, most of us enjoy the idea of playing a game. In a game, there are objectives to be met and satisfaction that comes along with meeting them. The consequences of failing do not concern lifelong decisions or changes, thus people have more incentive to try and keep trying. This is essentially what effective learning is about- learning from mistakes and failures after many tries. In this aspect, game-based learning offers us a room to err, hence there is the drive to do well but the lack of fear for failure, and this is something traditional teaching does not always allow.

Just 15 years ago, students were preferred to keep silent in class and simply listen to their teachers. Learning then, seemed greatly limited to what the teachers had to offer. Today however, the learning process goes both ways as students are very much encouraged to share their perspectives with their instructors and both parties can therefore acquire knowledge from each other. Furthermore, in a digital age such as that we are living in, it is important to keep up with times and be equipped with digital literacy skills. Through the above means, I guess it is safe to say that digital media has indeed facilitated and enabled effective learning.  

This probably gives us an idea of what the future digital classroom will look like. Schools are starting to become technology-centered as children nowadays are turning to laptops and notebooks instead of the traditional pen and paper to take down notes. The video below shows a real life example of a public elementary school in East L.A. and its vision to shift to a completely digital environment in the making thanks to the foresight of its principal and her awareness of the significance of digital media to the education of students of the future.

MICROSOFT SURFACE TECHNOLOGY

Microsoft Surface is a software and hardware technology that allows people to interact with digital content as they interact with everyday items. It basically consists of multi-touch user interaction and a tangible user interface. The Microsoft Surface Pro for instance, is a product of the Microsoft surface technology that is nicely designed and acts as a personal computer as well as a tablet. While there have been positive reviews, it seems not everybody stands in awe of this new technology. After all, having seen and used the marvelously created Apple technology such as iPad (which is currently still rapidly “evolving”) and what not, the Microsoft Surface Pro doesn’t seem exceedingly astonishing, at least in my opinion.

With progressively more and more new technology being created every now and then, it is important for companies to revolutionize and gain an edge over others by introducing technologies with newer and highly interesting features never seen before in order to succeed. While the Microsoft Surface technology is a considerably new concept of Microsoft, with seemingly interesting functions, its success in future is dependent on the amount of stability it can provide its users, as well as the need for it to innovate continuously.